The present disclosure relates to a locator. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a locator for a dielectric or metallic object using a capacitive coupling.
For locating an object concealed in a wall of a building, for example, a wooden beam, a steel reinforcement, a water or gas line, or a power cable, various so-called stud detectors are known, which detect the aforementioned objects based on their influence on an electric field.
DE 10 2008 054 445 A1 discloses a stud finder that includes a two-dimensional arrangement of multiple electrodes for providing various sensor signals.
DE 10 2008 054 460 A1 discloses a similar stud finder having a matrix-like arrangement of a plurality of sensor elements.
DE 10 2007 058 088 A1 discloses yet another stud finder and a geometrical arrangement of a transmitting electrode system relative to a receiving electrode system.
Other stud finders are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,118 and DE 20 2009 017 337.
Known stud finders generally function using a transmitting electrode and a receiving electrode, an excitation signal acting upon the transmitting electrode, and a capacitance between the transmitting electrode and the receiving electrode then being determined. If a dielectric or metallic object approaches the arrangement of the transmitting electrode and the receiving electrode, the determined capacitance changes, so that the object may be detected.
The object of the present disclosure is to specify a locator having an arrangement of electrodes that enables a more sensitive and more selective determination of the object.